


first time's the charm

by atemzug



Category: CLC (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Awkwardness, F/F, First Dates, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-09-27 01:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20399299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atemzug/pseuds/atemzug
Summary: Yeeun goes on a date with Elkie for the first time.





	first time's the charm

**Author's Note:**

> **this was posted on my old ao3, but i decided i rly wanted this work on this acc too :)**
> 
> \- written for **aml fic fest, prompt was "first times"******  
\- inspired by [elkie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VT2f-zQhok) and [yeeun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCA9mB_p77M)'s 둠칯두둠칯 episodes!  
\- to op, i hope u like it!  
\- and to caeri, my lovely friend who agreed to beta this fic in a heartbeat, thank u again and ily!

Yeeun takes a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. This isn't her first time driving, she shouldn't be  _ this  _ nervous. Except she  _ is,  _ and breathing in the scent of the car's air freshener isn't exactly helping her much.

Then the door to the passenger’s seat opens.

“Hey,” the main source of Yeeun’s nervousness greets with a sweet smile as she climbs inside the car, and Yeeun greets her back with a "Hi," and an equally sweet, albeit nervous, smile, too.

“Are you excited?” Elkie asks just as Yeeun starts the engine.

“Yes, of course.”

“They serve really good dimsum there," Elkie continues on. "I swear, they’re really like the ones we used to eat back in Hong Kong.”

“That does sound really great,” Yeeun agrees.

She drives for some minutes, with Elkie beside her, humming along to the songs playing on the radio. Yeeun isn't too sure of where to go, if she were to be honest, so when the car had to stop for a red light, she turns to face Elkie and plans to ask, but when she finds Elkie already looking at her and smiling, the words get stuck in her throat.

The smile on Elkie’s face disappears as soon as she notices Yeeun’s reaction, though, and it’s replaced with a slight frown and furrowed brows. "Are you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah,” Yeeun answers, nodding. “Just a little jittery."

"Why?"

"I'm kinda nervous," she admits.

"Why? Wait, this isn't your first time driving, is it?"

"No! No, of course not. Just— it's my first time driving without my mom or sister."

"Oh."

"Don't worry," she still assures Elkie as the light turns green and she starts driving again. "I'm a good driver. Just give me a few minutes to get used to this."

"I don't doubt that," Elkie replies just as reassuringly, and it does give Yeeun more confidence, making her feel more at ease.

Elkie has always made Yeeun feel more confident and more at ease.

It's not that Yeeun is an insecure, unconfident person to begin with, but somehow having Elkie around just lifts her spirits up by a notch, and Yeeun really appreciates that. The only thing now is — Yeeun isn't entirely sure when it started, really — Elkie's presence makes her nervous, too.

The two of them used to be roommates, until Elkie had to move out of the dormitory they shared to move into the apartment she now shares with her friend, where Yeeun picked her up a while ago. Yeeun suspects that it’s in that moment — when she realized Elkie wouldn’t be a few meters away every night anymore, ready to talk about what she did and ate during the day, ready to accompany Yeeun during all-nighters, ready to cheer her on every morning before either of them leave for class — that she also realized just how much Elkie’s presence has grown to become a significant part of her life, and that her moving out was enough for Yeeun to feel incomplete.

Of course, they still saw each other. They sometimes meet for lunch, together with their other friends; they sometimes meet to study at the library or at a nearby cafe, also with their other friends. But Yeeun wanted more than just those few moments together, more than just a smile here and there, more than just the general  _ ‘How have you been?’  _ and  _ ‘I’ve been good.’ _ exchange. Yeeun wanted a few more smiles, ones that are meant for her and  _ only _ her, just like back when she and Elkie were still roommates; she wanted a few more seconds or minutes or even hours, just the two of them alone together.

That’s why she asked Elkie out.

On a date.

And that’s why she’s here now, sitting rigidly and still a little nervous as they reach another stoplight, with Elkie beside her. 

“We can park over there,” Elkie says before the light goes green again, pointing somewhere to her right. “Let’s just walk from there. You should walk when you’re in Garosu-gil, right? I think it makes the place more charming.”

Yeeun smiles and nods her head in agreement, “You’re right.”

  
  
  


They've been walking around for quite some time now, and Yeeun loses most of the tension she was feeling earlier. For a while, even, she almost forgets that they’re on an actual date as she and Elkie walk under the sun, with arms linked together. It just seems so normal, so like the way they used to always walk around campus, and yet it also seems  _ so different, _ because now Yeeun is more aware of how their skin is touching, of how close they are to each other, of how if she just moved her head a little closer she could probably leave a little peck on Elkie’s cheek, but that's a thought she immediately shakes off as soon as Elkie turns to face her again.

"It's just a few more blocks away," Elkie tells her cheerfully. "Sorry for making you walk a lot, but I promise it's worth it!"

“It’s okay,” Yeeun replies. “I don’t mind walking around with you.”

“Oh,” Elkie lets out. She tightens her arm around Yeeun’s. “I don't mind it, either— I  _ like  _ it, actually. I missed doing this. I feel like we haven't properly hung out since I moved out of the dorm."

"Right. We're…  _ hanging out. _ "

"Wait— no, we're not," Elkie amends. "We're on a date… right?"

"I thought so?"

"I'm sorry, I'm making things awkward, I just—," she sighs, and her grip on Yeeun's arm loosens a little. "I'm really glad you asked me out. I really missed spending time with you."

"Me, too," Yeeun replies with a smile. She takes Elkie's hand then and laces their fingers together, ignoring the warmth climbing up her own face and the color that's already painting her cheeks.

Elkie is here, and Yeeun is allowed to hold her hand because they're on a date — complete with romantic feelings and awkward moments and stuttering words, reminding them that they're young and free to do what they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.

  
  
  


Lunch went really well. The food was good, of course — although truthfully Yeeun had no way to confirm how authentic the dimsum is, aside from listening to Elkie talk about how much she loves it and how much  _ everything tastes like home _ . Elkie also mentioned something about the store being a chain of a larger restaurant originally situated in Hong Kong, so there’s that to consider, too. In all honesty though, Yeeun doesn’t care much about any of that stuff; all she could really care about while they were having lunch was how happy Elkie seemed, and with that it wasn’t just Yeeun’s stomach that was full, but her heart too.

Yeeun feels a lot more comfortable now, too. She guesses Elkie’s presence (and her hand in Yeeun’s) really does bring her comfort. They’re just casually walking around a bit more, sipping on coffee they bought earlier at a cafe just a few walks away from the restaurant, and Yeeun can't help but think back to the time when she first met Elkie. 

It was during their first year at university; Yeeun had just settled into her new dormitory the day before, when her then unknown roommate bursted into the door, carrying bags in both arms and a cup of coffee in one hand — which she almosts spilled on Yeeun’s bed had it not been for Yeeun helping her.

“I’m sorry,” she’d told Yeeun, before moving to her side of the room. 

“It’s okay,” Yeeun had assured the other with a smile on her face. Then she reached out her hand and introduced, “I’m Yeeun, by the way.”

“Chong Ting-yan,” the other had replied, taking Yeeun’s hand, with a smile on her own face. “Call me Elkie. I’m from Hong Kong.”

“Oh. Cool. Well, Elkie-ssi, have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet.”

“I was gonna go find somewhere to eat, wanna come with?”

“Sure, of course!” Elkie had exclaimed. “Let me just put these down first.”

Yeeun remembers clearly how she thought Elkie was cute when they first met, and she still thinks the same until now — except now, Elkie has become more than just this cute face; she’s become this friend Yeeun has come to trust and lean on for support, has become this ray of sunlight and positivity that Yeeun never wants to lose, has become someone Yeeun has slowly fallen in love with over the course of two years. It was a scary realization, yes, but it was something Yeeun took in stride. It may have taken her longer than she wanted before she’s built up the courage to finally ask Elkie out, but she’s here now and that’s really all that matters.

She also remembers thinking she wanted their friendship to last, even if that meant she had to push aside her feelings — except now, too, she doesn’t have to do that, because now, Elkie has become someone whose hand Yeeun is free to hold, whose number she’s free to call anytime of day or night, whose place she can visit whenever she wants.

“Are we dating now?” Elkie casually asks while they’re walking, and Yeeun almost chokes on her coffee. 

“Yes?” Yeeun manages to out. “I mean, if you want?”

Instead of answering, Elkie squeezes Yeeun’s hand in hers and tightens her grip. Yeeun guesses it’s safe to say that now, Elkie has also become someone she can ask out on dates without any qualms anymore, too.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> [cc](http://www.curiouscat.me/321s)


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